society

I. noun (plural -ties) Etymology: Middle French societé, from Latin societat-, societas, from socius companion — more at social Date: 1531 1. companionship or association with one's fellows ; friendly or intimate intercourse ; company 2. a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; especially an organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession 3. a. an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another b. a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests 4. a. a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct ; a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly marked identity <

literary society

> b. a part of the community that sets itself apart as a leisure class and that regards itself as the arbiter of fashion and manners 5. a. a natural group of plants usually of a single species or habit within an association b. the progeny of a pair of insects when constituting a social unit (as a hive of bees); broadly an interdependent system of organisms or biological units II. adjective Date: 1693 of, relating to, or typical of fashionable society